NASA has announced a planned March 1, 2013, launch date for the next mission under the space agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The mission will be carried out by a Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Photo Credit: NASA

SpaceX has made great strides in expanding its presence, from developing new and reliable spacecraft and rockets to signing deals with a great number of aerospace firms. Photo Credit: Jason Rhian / AmericaSpace

NASA, SpaceX Select March 1 for Next Cargo Resupply Services Flight

By Jason Rhian

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla — NASA and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced today that they are targeting March 1 for the next flight under the space agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract (making this mission CRS-2). Launch is currently slated to take place from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:10 a.m. EST (9:10 a.m. CST).

This will be the next cargo flight conducted by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) since the first CRS mission roared into the history books in October 2012. Not everything went as smoothly as NASA and SpaceX may have liked with CRS-1, but the issues were apparently resolved in time for next month’s launch.